Pandas
belong to the order Carnivora and the family Ursidae. 
Their
strong jaws and large teeth help them chew on their favorite
food -- bamboo. They will also feed on wild grasses and sometimes
small rodents. In zoos they are fed, in addition to bamboo, apples,
carrots, sugar cane, and other vegetables. Pandas can spend most
of their day looking for food. Otherwise they will be resting
or sleeping. They do not hibernate.
Pandas are about 3 feet tall at the shoulder
and can be up to 6 feet long. Males are larger than females.
Pandas are generally solitary. Females begin breeding at the
age of 4 and will be able to reproduce up to the age of 20. The
gestation period is from 95 to 160 days. Baby pandas are helpless
at birth. They are tiny -- weighing only 4 ounces -- pink, hairless
and blind. Cubs open their eyes when they are six to eights weeks
old. Baby pandas remain with their mother for from 1-1/2 to 3
years. Their life span has only been determined from zoo pandas,
which have lived up to 35 years.
The giant panda is extremely rare and is
an endangered species. There are only about 1,600 left in the
wild and more than 160 can be found in zoos and special centers
used for breeding.